Always

But you, LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. I call out to the LORD, and he answers me from his holy mountain.
Psalm 3:3-4

The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
Isaiah 58:11

Yesterday, I had to make a big decision. So I spent the day in prayer and worship. God is teaching me not to focus on the problem, but to look up to him instead. So each time I got bogged down in details, I looked up and worshiped. At the end of the day, I made a decision based on prayer and the advice of some wise people. I felt so at peace and was thankful for the support of people that love me and God's help in making this decision. I thought that would be the end of it.

No, it definitely wasn't. At about 1:00 AM, I woke up second guessing my decision. Oh my goodness, doubts were coming from every direction. It felt like I had foolishly given up an opportunity of a lifetime. So I cast this care on God and went back into worship. Finally, I was able to sleep again.

I woke up in the morning feeling so loved by God and my friends and went to work with confidence and excitement. That's when the problems began again. I couldn't make my key work. Customers started showing up and couldn't get in. I had to call my boss who was having her own trouble sleeping. She was kind of cranky when she arrived. As the morning progressed it seemed like several customers had taken grumpy pills. Everywhere I turned there was a disgruntled person.

Here is what I concluded. I think God gave me the decision in the first place so that I would be set free in some areas. On the other hand, I don't think the enemy was very pleased with my decision, so he decided to pick on me. One part of me struggled, but another part of me was rejoicing because the harassment of the enemy proved that I was on track. I know that he was trying to make trouble for me, but he mostly succeeded in getting me to hope in God and to be thankful for God's faithfulness and guidance.

Here is a song that I heard on the radio this morning. It really spoke to me in the midst of this whole adventure.